A slowdown in the construction industry since the EU referendum has seen CITB revise down the number of workers needed by 2020 by a third. The CITB’s latest Construction Skills Network report has shown that construction output over the next five years is set to average 2%. This is a
CITB Wales has called on the Welsh Government to focus on promoting careers in construction when the new assembly term gets underway this week. The group believes that with major projects planned, along with recent rises in Welsh construction vacancies, CITB believes that the government must take a two pronged
Great news has been reported for construction companies, with figures showing a clear level of confidence in the industry as the value of contracts rose to a new peak for the year last month – the total value of contracts coming in at a notable figure of £6.1bn. In comparison
Good news for the construction sector; it has been reported that 90% of those which have applied for the CITB Skills and Training Fund have most recently seen the approval of such applications. In effect, the fund, offered by the Construction Industry Training Board, offers the opportunity for organisations with
Presently it could be argued that a lot of pressure is placed on property developers and local councils to deliver on residential housing schemes, bring about further affordable housing for residents, and do so quickly. Yet, often overlooked when considering the housebuilding arena is the widely reported skill shortages for
Apprenticeships play an integral role in supporting the future growth of the construction industry, helping organisations to expand their workforce whilst minimising costs and overcoming challenges across the industry with regard to skill shortages. Luckily, it appears that Scottish businesses are stepping up to the challenge, playing their part and
A slowdown in the construction industry since the EU referendum has seen CITB revise down the number of workers needed by 2020 by a third. The CITB’s latest Construction Skills Network report has shown that construction output over the next five years is set to average 2%. This is a fall of 2.5% in comparison with the CSN report in January. As a result, the CITB has revised down the number of workers needed in the sector by 2020 from 232,000 to 157,000. Steve Radley, CITB Director of Policy, said the figures reflected the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote. Radley commented: “Delays and uncertainty over investment decisions and access to migrant labour will likely intensify as Brexit nears. “While employers’ main focus in the short term will be to weather the storm, it’s also important that they equip their workforce with the right skills for the challenges ahead.” Average growth rates throughout the UK have stayed varied, with areas such as the South West (2.8%) and North West (2.2%) showing a positive growth over the next five years. However, the East Midlands (0.2%), the North East (0.1%) and Scotland (0.6%) are all expected to contract. London experiences the largest shift, where growth for the next five years has gone down by two percentage points to 1.5%, which was down from 3.5% in January. As a consequence just 25,350 new workers will be needed each year in England, in comparison with 34,950 in January. Meanwhile, Wales will need 3,540 workers (down from 5,440), Scotland will need 1,810 (down from 4,270) and Northern Ireland will need 650 (down from 1,760). The CITB said infrastructure projects such Hinkley Point C have boosted its growth forecast. However, the body added that the infrastructure was still likely to contract further than previously anticipated because of pauses in road building and a weak performance in the electricity sub sector.
CITB Wales has called on the Welsh Government to focus on promoting careers in construction when the new assembly term gets underway this week. The group believes that with major projects planned, along with recent rises in Welsh construction vacancies, CITB believes that the government must take a two pronged approach to the skills challenge ahead and keep the economy moving. Firstly, CITB Wales says it is crucial that schools and Careers Wales are given sufficient resources to promote careers in construction to young people. Second, CITB believes that the Government’s new National Infrastructure Commission for Wales must have the scope to plan and finance major projects, while upskilling the workforce. CITB Wales’ call comes as: Figures from the Construction Skills Network (CSN) forecast strong growth in the nation’s construction output – 5.8% over the period 2016-2020, leading to the creation of approximately 5,700 new jobs each year; A range of major job-creating construction projects – including the South Wales Metro, Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station and the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon – are planned or in the pipeline; The Welsh Government is considering its budget for services such as Careers Wales. Mark Bodger, CITB Wales Cymru Strategic Partnerships Director, said that the next 10 years will present significant construction opportunities and challenges for Wales. Bodger continued: “With a number of big projects in the pipeline it is crucial that construction is recognised as an attractive career choice for young people. However, we also need the Welsh Government to do everything it can to get those game-changing infrastructure projects off the ground.” To meet the skills challenge, CITB says that the National Assembly for Wales’ Children Young People and Education Committee should improve the resources available to Careers Wales and schools in order to promote careers in construction. “Across Wales there are major projects either underway or in the pipeline, which can inspire confidence in the sector and capture the imagination of anyone interested in a construction career,” says Mr Bodger.
Great news has been reported for construction companies, with figures showing a clear level of confidence in the industry as the value of contracts rose to a new peak for the year last month – the total value of contracts coming in at a notable figure of £6.1bn. In comparison to February, the total value of construction contracts for the month was 10% higher, signifying a considerable increase and perhaps renewing confidence yet further in the continued prosperity of the industry. Should the trend persist, then this will naturally show a considerable strengthening of the construction industry, which comes to the relief of many after previously turbulent economic conditions. The figures outlined for last month also then reflect the CITB’s forecast seen in its Construction Skills Network report, showing that circa 230,000 jobs may be created over the course of the coming five years in line with construction sector growth – a speed of 2.5% each year predicted for this very growth. Of course, concerns are still amidst as to the sector’s capacity to deliver the increasing workloads coming through the sector, as skill shortages remain a prominent limiting factor in being able to take on a greater workload. As such, CITB conceived GoConstruct alongside prominent construction sector figures to offer an online resource of information for tomorrow’s workforce so as best to support their construction-sector careers. Commenting on the findings, Barbour ABI’s Michael Dall highlighted the results as encouraging, pinpointing housebuilding as one of the key areas within which growth has been seen, storming far ahead within the construction sector as supply attempts to catch up with the ever-increasing demand for residential homes. He added: “With both the commercial & retail and infrastructure sectors increasing their levels of activity in March, it would be good to see this continue and take some of the pressure away from private housing, which has been the only sector that has continually grown and at times propped up the industry in recent years.”
Good news for the construction sector; it has been reported that 90% of those which have applied for the CITB Skills and Training Fund have most recently seen the approval of such applications. In effect, the fund, offered by the Construction Industry Training Board, offers the opportunity for organisations with below 50 employees to access some £5000 in budget to facilitate the training and development of their respective workforce. The success of those applying for funding has been received as a great success, not solely for those organisations to have applied and succeeded, but also to herald the potential for the budget to offer a much-needed resource to a majority of firms. From those bids submitted, a total of forty three were accepted out of a total of forty eight bids. Not only does the success of those forty three sit well in providing the scheme to be quite open for organisations to secure funding from, but the level of interest is also noteworthy and highlighted as a great success for the CITB; this then highlights the level of interest held by smaller organisations in ensuring their staff are equipped with proper skill-sets so as best to represent, and grow their business. Of course, core to opening up the fund to smaller organisations lies within the process itself, with more complex and detailed applications often putting smaller organisations off from pursuing such schemes entirely. In accordance with this notion, CITB’s Head of Economic Analysis and Research, Geeta Nathan, stated: “We have simplified our funding applications for firms of all sizes, and we want even more firms to apply for this fund when the next round opens in mid-April.” Of those which have applied, and succeeded in securing funding, Insitu Technical Services, a civil engineering practice based out of York has been confirmed to have secured some £5000 for the provision of training and qualification in the arena of Personal Track Safety certification; a move expected to develop new opportunities for the company in the times to come.
Presently it could be argued that a lot of pressure is placed on property developers and local councils to deliver on residential housing schemes, bring about further affordable housing for residents, and do so quickly. Yet, often overlooked when considering the housebuilding arena is the widely reported skill shortages for the construction industry; a concept which, by inherent nature holds back the construction industry from delivering housing schemes as frequently; something which we may see the CITB making great ground on resolving. In support of filling the skills gap, and facilitating the sector’s ability to deliver more housing, the CITB and Home Builder’s Federation have teamed up to offer a £2.7m initiative to deliver essential training for 45,000 new housebuilding workers by 2019. The first scheme of this sort, the partnership, the newly dubbed Home Building Skills Partnership will look to reign in organisations of all shapes and sizes to ensure that the industry is well equipped with skilled workers. To achieve on its ambitions, the focus will then include individual initiatives to promote collaboration for key skill areas from the top to the bottom of the supply chain, thus placing the industry in a much stronger position to plan for the future. And with considerable targets set out for the housing sector thus far, this support is expected to be quite well received. Aiming to support greater than 3,500 businesses in the building industry, the partnership not only aims to ensure that the aforementioned 45,000 entrants are equipped with the housebuilding skills needed to support the industry, but will also see additional training provided to circa 1,000 experienced workers in the industry, offering them brand new housebuilding training schemes and associated qualification. Providing his thoughts on the scheme and its role, Brandon Lewis, Housing and Planning Minister commented: “The Home Building Skills Partnership is an important initiative and will help deliver the training of skilled workers we need to get the job done and to improve quality across the industry.”
Apprenticeships play an integral role in supporting the future growth of the construction industry, helping organisations to expand their workforce whilst minimising costs and overcoming challenges across the industry with regard to skill shortages. Luckily, it appears that Scottish businesses are stepping up to the challenge, playing their part and have, as such, achieved a five-year high in the number of construction apprentices recruited in 2015. With circa 1,876 apprentices recruited over the course of the year, 2015 represents a great milestone in overcoming the skill shortages by bringing in new blood to the industry. These figures highlight a 32% increase in the number of apprentices taken back in 2011, which sat at 1,422, as reported by the CITB. The figures come shortly before Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2016, which is also set to encourage organisations to take on more apprentices as a method of bringing new staff into their organisations more easily, and more cost-effectively. Funding provided by the CITB is available for all employed apprentices, which sits at £10,250, and offers a much-needed line of support for smaller businesses keen to expand, yet without the cashflow required to recruit further staff. With an estimated 21,000 new staff expected to be required over the course of the coming five years, the funding, and apprenticeships as a whole, offers a simple and effective route for employers both small and large to secure and train new staff effectively. Further information on how organisations can secure apprentices, as well as information on how would-be apprentices can secure positions within the construction industry, can be found one the Go Construct website, heralded by CITB’s Strategic Partnerships Director, Ian Hughes as: “A fantastic resource for employers and apprentices to find out about the support available, and the wealth of careers on offer.” And with the growing need for skilled workers rising with every coming day, we can only expect this vital industry resource to be much-welcomed by the wider sector.
